Poison pill solution for killer zebra mussels

Poison pill solution for killer zebra mussels

Thursday 2 February 2006 21.11 EST
First published on Thursday 2 February 2006 21.11 EST

Scientists say they have discovered how to control zebra mussels - freshwater pests that kill other mussels, clog water pipes and foul boat propellers - by feeding them with poison pills.

A team from Cambridge University claim they can kill the clams through packing potassium chloride into particles made of fats. The particles, harmless to other creatures, are transferred by mussels along their gills before dissolving in their stomachs.

David Aldridge, of the university's zoology department, said: "Zebra mussels are encrusting just about every solid surface in some rivers ."